Insecticide dispensing apparatus



1964 F. A. REUSTLE ETAL 3,151,746

INSEGTICIDE DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 24, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 El v T T 3 f 3 F N Ajay/ 7; E 2/ JAMES l "5OA/PPA 5 20 BY 491. Kwe j A ORNEY Oct. 6, 1964 F. A. REUSTLE ETAL 3,151,746

msscncms DISPENSING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 JAME; V-SCA/PPA T'TORNEY F'iled Sept. 24, 1962 United States Patent 3,151,746 INSECTICIDE DISFENSENG APPARATUS Frank A. Reustle, R9. Box 4, Norma, N.J., and James V. Scarpa, Maine and Oak Road, Vineland, NJ. Filed Sept. 24, 1962, Ser. No. 225,795 Claims. (Cl. 43-124) This invention relates to a novel apparatus for protecting homes and other buildings from damage caused by insects, especially termites.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus which may be very economically constructed and which may be inexpensively installed after the construction of a building has been completed.

Another object of the invention is to provide such an apparatus which is adapted to be installed so as to provide a barrier around a building to prevent termites from reaching the protected building rather than for destroying the termites after a building has been infested thereby.

An additional object of the invention is to provide an apparatus including a novel dispensing unit constituting a permanent installation, and a novel means for charging said dispensing unit with an insecticide and which means is utilized only periodically to recharge the dispensing unit and may be disconnected therefrom when not in actual use.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawings, illustrating a pres ently preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view showing the completely assembled insecticide dispensing apparatus in an applied position;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view primarily in side elevation, taken substantially along the line 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 33 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary top plan View of the Structure as disclosed in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line 55 of FTGURE 3;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 66 of FIGURE 3; and

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal sectional View through a part of the dispensing unit.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, the insecticide dispensing apparatus in its entirety and comprising the invention is designated generally 8 and includes a dispensing unit, designated generally 9, and a recharging unit, designated generally 16.

1L8 dispensing unit 9 includes two elongated tubes 11 and 12 which are preferably formed of a plastic material, and an inverted T-shaped rigid tubular fitting 13. The fitting 13 has a straight portion 14 the ends of which are received in adjacent open ends 15 of the tubes 11 and 12 and which tube ends 15 are secured over the ends of the portion 14 by conventional clamps 15, as best seen in FIGURE 6.

The tubes 11 and 12 are adapted to be buried in the earth 17 at a depth of approximately three inches. The tubes 11 and 12 are shown in FIGURE 1 substantially surrounding a building such as a house 18 and with a portion of the tube 11 extending along an edge of a sidewalk 19 which is disposed remote from the house 18, relative to the other edge of sm'd sidewalk which extends along a side of the house. It will be readily apparent that the tubes 11 and 12 may be installed around the house 18 as seen in FIGURE 1 and below ground 3,151,746 iatented Oct. 6, 1964 level, as seen in FIGURE 2, after the house 18 has been completed. If the dispensing unit 9 is installed prior to installation of the sidewalk 19, the tube 11 would and preferably is disposed beneath the sidewalk.

The other distal or more remote ends 29 of the tubes 11 and 12 are closed and sealed, as by means of plugs 21. Tubes 11 and 12 at spaced intervals throughout the lengths thereof are provided with small apertures 22, all of which are disposed to open downwardly, as seen in FIGURES 2 and 6. The size of the apertures 22 has been exaggerated in the drawings for the sake of clarity. Actually, the individual apertures 22 will each have a diameter of approximately .046 inch. The other transverse leg 23 of the fitting 13 which is connected to and communicates with the portion 14, intermediate of the ends of said portion 14, extends upwardly therefrom and has a threaded upper end 24 which terminates above the surface of the earth 17.

The recharging or charging unit 1t as best seen in FIG- URE 3, includes a tank or reservoir 25 which is adapted to be supported on legs 26 which depend from a bottom 27 thereof. Said bottom 27 has an externally threaded externally disposed hollow nipple or boss 28 which aligns with a corresponding nipple or boss 29 of a top wall 39 of the tank 25. The top wall 39 is also provided with an externally threaded flanged filling opening 31 which is normally closed by a threaded cap 32.

The tank or reservoir 25 is equipped with a pump and agitator, designated generally 33, which includes a pump barrel or cylinder 34 in the form of an elongated tube which extends from top to bottom through the tank 25 and which has its ends engaging in the bosses 28 and 29. An internally threaded cap 35 detachably engages the lower boss 28 to support the barrel or cylinder 34 in the tank 25', due to the fact that the open lower end 36 of said cylinder abuts against the cap 35. The upper end 37 of the cylinder 34 abuts against a cap 38 which detachably engages the upper boss 29 and which comblues with the cap 35 to hold the pump cylinder 34 against movement in the tank 25, when said caps are applied. Said upper cylinder end 37 is defined by an end wall having an opening 39 which aligns with a central opening 49 of the cap 38.

The pump and agitator unit 33 includes a pump rod 4-1 which extends slidably through the openings 49 and 39 and which has a piston 42 at its lower end disposed for sliding movement in the cylinder 34. The piston 42, as best seen in FIGURE 5, includes two cup shaped members 43 and 44 which are preferably formed of leather and a rigid washer 45 which is interposed therebetween. The cup members 43 and 44 and Washer 45 are disposed on the lower end of the pump rod 41 between a stop collar 46 and a nut 47.

A post 43 is fixed to and rises from the tank top 39 and one end of a pump handle 49 is pivotally connected at 56 to the upper end of the post 43 for up and down swinging movement. The upper end of the pump rod 41 is connected by a pin and slot connection 51 to an intermediate portion of the handle 49 for pivotal and limited sliding movement of the rod 41 relative to the handle 49. A stop member 52 is detachably secured by fastenings 53 to the post 48, below the pivot 50, and has a part 54 disposed over a part of the pump handle 49 for limiting upward swinging movement of said pump handle and upward travel of the rod 41 and piston 42.

The pump barrel or cylinder 34 has a series of circumferentially spaced openings 55 disposed above the level of the tank bottom 27 and a number of slotted openings 56 which are disposed above the openings 55 and above the level of the uppermost position of travel of the piston 42, for a purpose which will hereinafter be described.

An externally threaded nipple 55', which opens centrally through the cap 35, extends downwardly therefrom and is connected to one end of an elbow coupling 56' to the other end of which is threadedly connected an end of a pipe 57. A conventional shutoff valve 58 is interposed between an end of a pipe 59 and the other end of the pipe 57, and an internally threaded coupling 69 is interposed between an end of a pipe 61 and the other end of the pipe 59. An elbow coupling 62 connects with the other end of the pipe 61 and with the threaded end 24 of the fitting 13.

With the cap 32 removed, the tank or reservoir 25 is filled with a liquid insecticide through the filling opening 31, after which the cap 32 is replaced. It will be apparent that the liquid insecticide 63 will enter the pump cylinder 34 through the ports 55, beneath the piston 42, when the handle 49 is raised, to fill the lower portion of the cylinder 34; and the liquid 63 will also enter through the slots 56 to fill the upper portion of the cylinder 34 either to the level of the liquid 63 in said tank or to the level of the uppermost slot 56. When the pump handle 49 is swung downwardly from its position of FIGURE 3, the piston 42 in moving downwardly will initially close the ports 55, after which the insecticide 63 which is trapped in the cylinder 34, below the ports 55, will be forced outwardly through the conduit element 55'62 to the fitting 13, assuming that the valve 58 is open. During the return or upstroke of the handle 49 and piston 42, the insecticide above the piston will be expelled from the cylinder 34 through the slots 56 and initially also through the ports 55 for agitating the insecticide in the tank 25. As the piston 42 moves above the ports 55 the lower part of the cylinder 34 will be refilled with the insecticide by gravity and suction, and on the succeeding downstroke of the piston 42 the operation previously described will be repeated and the liquid insecticide will be further agitated by its movement back into the cylinder through the slots 56. This pumping operation will be continued until a kicking back of the pump handle 49 indicates that the dispensing unit 9 is completely filled with the insecticide which can only escape very slowly therefrom through the minute discharge ports 22. When this has occurred, the valve 58 is closed and the coupling 69 is moved to disconnect the pipe 61 from the pipe 59 so that pipe 61 can be turned with coupling 62 to disconnect said parts from the fitting 13. A threaded cap 64 is then applied to the threaded fitting end 24 for sealing the dispensing unit 9 at its inlet end, until said unit requires recharging. Consequently, the unit may be utilized for charging or recharging a number of dispensing units 9 and which recharging is only required to be performed periodically, as the escape of the insecticide 63 from the tubes 11 and 12 by seepage through the ports 22 is very gradual and usually continues over a period of at least one week.

When the valve 53 is open, the pump 33 and pipe line 55'62 have substantially equal flow characteristics in both directions. Thus, when recharging the dispensing unit, the liquid contents of the tank are forced through the pipe line into the dispensing unit on the down strokes of the piston 42, and air is drawn back through the pipe line into the tank 25 from the dispensing unit on the up strokes of the piston. The pump pressurizes the tubes 11 and 12 on the down strokes of the piston to force some of the liquid out through the apertures 22 and air is drawn in through said apertures on the up strokes of the piston to clean said apertures of sediment during recharging of the system. Accordingly, after recharging is completed, liquid can seep gradually through the apertures from the tubes. The rate of seepage is reduced due to the fact that air must enter the tubes through the same apertures to fill the space previously occupied by the dispensed liquid, since the system, asseen in FIGURES 6 and 7, is otherwise sealed.

Due to the location of the lowermost ports 55 substantially above the level of the'tank bottom 27, sediment in the bottom of the tank will be prevented from being pumped therefrom into the dispensing unit 9, and which sediment would clog the ports 22. The sediment, not shown, can be periodically cleansed from the tank 25 by removing the caps 35 and 38 and raising the pump barrel 34 so that the bottom of the tank can be flushed out through the boss 28.

The odors from the insecticide 63 which escapes from the ports 22 will penetrate and rise through the earth 17 to form a barrier through which termites, ants and other insects which have their origin in and/ or travel through the earth will not pass, so that the building 18, around which the dispensing unit 9 is disposed, will be protected from such insects.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may be resorted to, without departing from the function or scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

We claim as our invention:

1. An insecticide dispensing apparatus comprising a dispensing unit and a recharging unit, said dispensing unit including a conduit adapted to be embedded in the earth and having an upwardly extending inlet portion located substantially intermediate of the ends thereof and adapted to protrude upwardly from the earth, said conduit having longitudinally spaced minute discharge ports disposed only in the bottom thereof and being closed at the ends thereof, said recharging unit including a tank adapted to contain a liquid insecticide, a pump including a pump cylinder disposed in said tank and communicating with the interior thereof, said pump having an outlet at its lower end disposed below the bottom of the tank, a pipe line connecting said pump outlet to the inlet of the dispensing unit for charging the dispensing unit with the insecticide from the tank when the pump is operated, said pump including means for agitating the liquid in the tank to prevent sediment from entering the pump cylinder from said tank when the pump is operated, and said pump and pipe line having substantially equal flow characteristics in both directions.

2. An insecticide dispensing apparatus as in claim 1, said conduit including flexible portions disposed on either side of said inlet portion and adapted to be disposed to surround a building, said discharge ports being located in said flexible conduit portions.

3. An insecticide dispensing apparatus as in claim 1, a shutoff valve interposed in said pipe line, said pipe line being disposed below the level of the tank bottom and providing an unobstructed passage between the pump outlet and said inlet portion when the shutoff valve is open, said pipe line including a detachable portion connected to said inlet portion of the dispensing unit and disposed between the dispensing unit and shutoif valve for disconnecting the recharging unit from the dispensing unit, and a closure member detachably engaging and closing said inlet portion when the recharging unit is detached therefrom.

4. In an insecticide dispensing apparatus, a storage tank adapted to contain an insecticide, a manually operated pump including a pump cylinder disposed in said tank, a pump piston reciprocably disposed in said cylinder, said cylinder having inlet ports communicating with the tank and disposed above and spaced from the tank bottom and below the uppermost position of movement of said piston and substantially above the lowermost position of the piston movement, and said cylinder having openings disposed above the upper extremity of movement of the piston through which the liquid insecticide is adapted to be pumped back and forth between the tank and cylinder, when the piston is reciprocated, for continuously agitating the liquid.

5. In an insecticide dispensing apparatus as in claim 4, said pump having an outlet at its lower end dlSPOSBQ beneath the tank bottom, a pipe line connected to and leading from said pump outlet and adapted to be connected to an insecticide dispensing unit, said pipe line and 5 dispensing unit being disposed below the level of the tank and a shutofi valve interposed in said pipe line, said pipe line providing an unobstructed passage between the pump outlet and dispensing unit when the shutoff valve is open.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,047,414 Henry et a1. July 14, 1936 6 Wieseltier May 30, 1950 Dickison July 8, 1958 Aldridge et a1. July 15, 1958 Woodson Apr. 25, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS Italy Jan. 26, 1952 

1. AN INSECTICIDE DISPENSING APPARATUS COMPRISING A DISPENSING UNIT AND RECHARGING UNIT, SAID DISPENSING UNIT INCLUDING A CONDUIT ADAPTED TO BE EMBEDDED IN THE EARTH AND HAVING AN UPWARDLY EXTENDING INLET PORTION LOCATED SUBSTANTIALLY INTERMEDIATE OF THE ENDS THEREOF AND ADAPTED TO PROTRUDE UPWARDLY FROM THE EARTH, SAID CONDUIT HAVING LONGITUDINALLY SPACED MINUTE DISCHARGE PORTS DISPOSED ONLY IN THE BOTTOM THEREOF AND BEING CLOSED AT THE ENDS THEREOF, SAID RECHARGING UNIT INCLUDING A TANK ADAPTED TO CONTAIN A LIQUID INSECTCIDE, A PUMP INCLUDING A PUMP CYLINDER DISPOSED IN SAID TANK AND COMMUNICATING WITH THE INTERIOR THEREOF, SAID PUMP HAVING AN OUTLET AT ITS LOWER END DISPOSED BELOW THE BOTTOM OF THE TANK, A PIPE LINE CONNECTING SAID PUMP OUTLET TO THE INLET OF THE DISPENSING UNIT FOR CHARGING THE DISPENSING UNIT WITH THE INSECTICIDE FROM THE TANK WHEN THE PUMP IS OPERATED, SAID PUMP INCLUDING MEANS FOR AGITATING THE LIQUID IN THE TANK TO PREVENT SEDIMENT FROM ENTERING THE PUMP CYLINDER FROM SAID TANK WHEN THE PUMP IS OPERATED, AND SAID PUMP AND PIPE LINE HAVING SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL FLOW CHARACTERISTICS IN BOTH DIRECTIONS. 